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200+ Demand: Repeal of Wisconsin’s Unjust Mining Law

January 19, 2014 by Barbara With

Social media strategist Kathy Stover-Kennedy, and boyfriend Freedom Industries CEO Dennis P. Farrell. According to Americans Against the Tea Party, Stover-Kennedy said that Denny has received threats over his company’s lax, uncaring, and completely unfair treatment after the leaking of deadly chemicals into West Virginia waterways. She remarked that he “is not a spokesperson and has no desire to be” and that there is no public danger for this “accidental” failure to name what has been deemed a likely long-term leakage from a company tank. Photo: Americans Against the Tea Party.

Last week, 300,000 West Virginians lost their water. Hundreds of people went to emergency rooms, which also did not have water. A state of emergency has been declared. All because of “clean” coal.

The toxin responsible was methylcyclohexanol, used for washing coal and one of the chemicals that killed the Love Canal, site of the worst chemical disaster in U.S. history. West Virginia mining companies assured residents that their operations are safe and clean. The truth is just the opposite. “It’s caused us more problems than you could ever imagine,” said Danny Jones, mayor of Charleston, the state’s capital. “It’s a prison from which we would like to be released.”

West Virginia’s Chris Cline, King Coal himself, owns Gogebic Taconite, the mining company that wrote Wisconsin’s new mining law and wants to set up shop in northern Wisconsin. GTac has stated over and over that the new law protects the environment. Like the lies of King Coal, the lies of iron ore mining in Northern Wisconsin have come home to roost.

Recently, an internal Wisconsin DNR report was “leaked” to the press that clearly demonstrates why iron ore mining is bad for our health. Grounded in science, it reveals what we already know: iron mining in the Penokees poses a variety of threats to human health, and to the water supply that connects a complex ecosystem, ranging from upland forests, to wetland bogs, to Lake Superior.

Chris Cline, owner of Gogebic Taconite. Cline’s net worth as of 2012 was $1.5 billion. As it turns out, a member of the West Virginia legislature is vice president for business development for Natural Resource Partners, the company that Chris Cline owns a 31% interest in, and Russell Gordy, owner of RGGS minerals, the company that owns most of the mineral rights lease-optioned to GTAC in Iron County, is on the board of directors. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

All along, GTac has asked the public to wait for the science. They said, “Trust the DNR.” But when the DNR does the hard work and puts together a well-documented paper regarding the history and geology of mining, GTac didn’t even read it before discrediting it.

Those who changed the laws in Wisconsin broke the public trust. They refuse to protect the Earth for even their own children. Their actions demonstrate that they have no interest in the health and well-being of our community. After destroying our land and waters, they will take their profits and disappear, leaving us with awful consequences like those now faced by the people of West Virginia.

The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation has called for a repeal of the new mining law, joining the growing ranks of citizens who are rejecting a law written by and for the mining company, at the expense of the citizens and natural resources.

Concerned citizens are uniting to protect not only the Bad River watershed and Lake Superior from mining, but all Wisconsin waters. We, the undersigned, call for the REPEAL of Act 1, Wisconsin’s unjust ferrous mining law, and Act 118, the wetlands destruction law.

Ferrous mining should be treated like any other mining, under the “Prove It First” law that has successfully protected us for years. Wisconsin can’t afford the kind of losses being seen in West Virginia. Citizens have the right to clean water. Furthermore, we have the right to be represented by our elected officials, not an out-of-state mining company run by a known polluter.

14 Comments on “200+ Demand: Repeal of Wisconsin’s Unjust Mining Law”

To repeal the mining law first you must have big bucks to buy walker. he does not do anything for free. If he did he would do one thing good for the people of Wisconsin. so far all he has done is send Wisconsin back to 1880.

We will not be deterred by Walker, money, legislators who have been bought off or any other obstacle. By continuing to build numbers and continue to demand a repeal of the mining law, we will bring this issue into the mainstream. Never underestimate the power of a group of highly dedicated individuals, who also happen to love Lake Superior, the Penokees and our water.

What good are numbers. We came out in numbers and electronic voting machines and many rural county clerks cheated for him. This is what the the newest John Doe is about. Walker lied to congress & the world was a witness. He is above all laws like G W Bush. The world court wants him. Why is Obama protecting Walker ? If Reagan was still president he would arrest Walker as a communist. View this clip and you decide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsHXJr8tqP0In

So your answer is apparently to roll over and take it. How’s that working for you, personally? Just sitting around proving we are doomed? I Say do something, it’s better than just sitting there proving we are doomed. Good luck to you, I prefer to be pro active.

ALEC owns Scott Walker it is in his biography. Walker will never be intimidated by the people. He knows ALEC has always PAID his way since 1992.
Scott Walker remembers creating jobs as assemblyman in Wisconsin . It was easy with ALEC. 32000 UNION public sector jobs. It is not as easy this time with out using your tax dollars. Scott Walker has created ALL Wisconsin`s budget problems working for ALEC. When Scott Walker was a state representative and the chairman of the Assembly Corrections Committee, he introduced bills that would privatize state prison operations and that would allow private corrections companies to open prisons in Wisconsin to house inmates from other states. This allowed outsourcing our Prisoners in several states.

In 1995 Walker and Prosser as state assemblymen championed for ALEC with truth in sentencing telling the legislatures it would not cost a dime it was to give judges not parole boards the control over sentencing. Then Walker filibustered to stop sentencing changes after the fact misleading ALL the legislatures. With out the sentencing changes Wisconsin`s prisons quadrupled over night. Most people sentenced to 2 years now had to serve as much as 6o years. As the Wisconsin Budget watch Blog shows . Stopping just a percentage of these long sentences Wisconsin would save 707 million per year. Wisconsin could have free tuition colleges. It shows Wisconsin has wasted 100 billion if you add the numbers to the state budget since 1995. Not including the building new or remodeling of 71 courthouses & 71 county jails & 441 police stations and dozens of prisons 28 billion plus interest. It is 2.5 billion annually out of the state budget just to maintain these Palaces called jails and courthouses. No expense spared. The total is over 28 BILLION plus the 60 Billion spent by social services to support prisoners families because the bread winner was a political prisoner as US Att gen Eric Holder explained. Then farming out prisoners in several states until the courts realized it was not allowed in the Wisconsin constitution. Wisconsin then hired 32000 union public sector workers to fill the jobs housing the prisoners from deputies , judges, district attorneys all owe Walker for creating there jobs. 32000 UNION PUBLIC SECTOR JOBS. This cost taxpayers over 3.8 billion or a half million per day to house these EXTRA prisoners per day in Milwaukee county alone. Wisconsin claims it has 24,000 prisoners compared to Minnesota`s 5500. Wisconsin`s corrections population is 104,000 with many in half way house and county jails and county prisons that are not counted. . In 1995 Milwakee county had less than 200 prisoners now it has thousands. Is Scott Walker moving Wisconsin forward ? This your reason for budget problems in Wisconsin. Big spender big government Scott Walker. Why does he not work for the people he is taking his check from the people ? Walker has ALEC on his Biography and is proud of this scam. ALEC has no place in any democracy. Ronald Reagan said where collective bargaing and UNIONS are not allowed Democracy and freedom is lost. Unions created the great American miracle so everyone could prosper. In walker`s America we have slave labor like in Fred Koch`s RUSSIA. Could or would an Amercan consider any type of voter suppression ? Could or would an American end liberty and justice for all for personal gain ? Could or would an American not take care of it`s own people ?
Walkers is KKK/KGB/NRA/Flea bagger/GOP/ALEC and Nazi who are all the same group now supported by david koch`s tea Party .
This ends all rumor that Scott walker even considers the constitution or liberty and justice for all. these Are Koch`s / ALEC ideals from fred Koch in Russia where he made his first millions.http://wjacact.blogspot.com/ This would end or slow down many of the states criminal regimes called justice systems in Wisconsin